Hani Totorewa

About the Mentor

Hani Totorewa is a vocalist and keyboard player, formerly of the legendary reggae band Katchafire, and has now dedicated his life to his passion for music teaching! Hani teaches at several schools in Rotorua where his talent, experience and knowledge of Te Reo help him to change lives through music every day.

Hani has been part of our mentoring programmes since 2015.

Teacher Geraldine Cowan from Wairoa College said, "Hani gave confidence to students who were normally considered disengaged by other teachers. He connected to their thought process and formed a trust quicker than teachers that have had them for a few years. No judgement was passed to our students and all were fully engaged."

Teacher Teresa Hoskins from Tarawera High School said, "Hani was wonderful with the kids, he developed relationships with them and connected with them. The kids really enjoyed having him in school and we would love to have him back again at some point it was great. Our year 13s are going to use the song they started with Hani to take to rockquest."

Teacher Fiona Hayes from Otorohanga College said, "It was great for students to have a M?ori musician as their mentor to inspire them and encourage them. With a majority of the group of students being M?ori they really enjoyed the relationship they built with him as he spoke about his background in Te Reo and tikanga."